The Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened

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Tuesday, February 7th, 2017
4:00 PM to 5:35 PM

Stephen Sondheim and producer-director partner Harold Prince had seemed unstoppable before their 1981 effort Merrily We Roll Along closed after a mere 16 performances, ending both their reign over Broadway and their decade-long friendship. After individual success, Sondheim (West Side Story) and Prince (Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret) had collaborated on a series of Tony-winning musicals in the 1970s, culminating in 1979s smash hit Sweeney Todd. Best Worst Thing director Lonny Price idolized the pair, and auditioned among thousands for a role in Merrily We Roll Along. The story of a trio of bitter and jaded adults, Merrily moves back in time as its scenes progress, so that by its end the friends are wide-eyed, hopeful youths. With present-day interviews and recovered footage from an unaired TV feature, Best Worst Thing works as its bittersweet complement. A reflection on the nature of youth, idealism, and disappointment, Best Worst Thing is above all a love letter to the theatre. Buoyed by Sondheim's now-beloved score and the undiminished, irrepressible passion of Merrily's cast and creators, Best Worst Thing is an unmissable treat for even a casual theatre goer. Featuring composer Adam Guettel, NYT critic Frank Rich, Jason Alexander, Mandy Patinkin, and many more.